Category Archives: wildlife

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Well… almost. My latest book for children is the second book set in a village with startling resemblance to Magura, which in the books is called Fân.

Dahlia’s Pet Detectives (Dalia si micii detectivi) will be in the spotlight at the end of next week (Thursday 31st May, Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd June) when my new book is launched at Bucuresti’s Bookfest (Romexpo).

If you read Floss the lost puppy, you’ll recognise the village of Fân (Hay) where Dahlia and Chip are neighbours and schoolmates of Thea and Tudor Thimble. A completely new story, but set in the same Transylvanian village, high up in the Carpathian Mountains.

We’re not there yet… March is a limbo month: the winter snows have gone but the new grass and the colours of Spring are still waiting below ground, waiting waiting for the sun to warm the earth and give the signal to begin the growing season. But soon, soon!

My new book, Fericita in Transilvania: drumul din Liverpool in Carpati, will be published by Editura All in mid-November. All about my life in Magura – how and why I came here, and why I’ve stayed – the book tells the story of why an English woman left a world-famous city for a remote mountain village in Romania.

Follow the book blog to find out about the book launch, events, signings, talks, offers, competitions and more.

If you’re searching for the right Christmas present, this might be the solution…

In March, we have the chance to learn from a master in photographic technique and artistry, with the Magura landscapes to inspire us. The workshop with Mihai Moiceanu will not only give us beautiful days of exploring the wild spaces and places around Magura, but to learn how to capture and exploit the limitless potential of imagery through the lens and then on the computer. Don’t miss it – only a small group – not many places available. I hope to be part of the group… so see you there?

My adorable little moth with his perky panting dog face, has been identified.

Professor Jim Hardie, Director of Science at the Royal Entomological Society in Britain, found him after much scratching of entomological heads, for which I am deeply grateful.

Little dog-face is Agapeta zoegana, or the sulphur knapweed moth. The larvae eat through the roots of knapweed, so it is a boon to farmers with invasive varieties of knapweed (particularly in the USA where Dog-Face isn’t a natural resident). Moths are collected in early August and put to work on sites where knapweed is a positive pest.

Here in Transylvania, where we have knapweed in healthy concentrations among the diverse wildflower meadows, Dog-Face can chomp through roots at leisure, stopping now and then for a photo opportunity in my kitchen.

This little darling appeared on my kitchen window in Magura, and I need someone to tell me what it is. A moth, by the look of him, with his panting-dog mask. He’s about 1 cm long, and his small brown head looks like the dog’s tongue. Anyone know his name?

The snow attempts to escape but Hobbes does the dance and prevents the getaway

George doing dancercise, electrified by the winter sun

Four cats took a big dose of power straight from the sun today (after three days of low cloud and freezing fog) and let rip in the snow of Magura. George, Hobbes, Buster and Mouse showed off their athletic skills and comic talent to an audience of one… before lunch and a snooze in front of the fire.

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Limba româna

Life in the Carpathians

Magura is one of Romania's prettiest villages, 1,000 metres up in the mountains, in the Piatra Craiului National Park. Magura and neighbouring village Pestera are the only two villages in any Romanian national park. Life is sweet, the air is clean, and the welcome is warm.

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